Cortana notes that part of the dissected Covenant AI looks like her, but... horribly fractured. And she also notes that the copying software might do the same to her. Am I the only one making 3 and 4 equal 7? Ackerson sold the Covenant one AI, as well as Earth and all the rest, which I already discussed, and the covenant copied it over and over and over.

Oh, and one more thing pointing to my theory being correct?

Ackerson's attitude towards Reach. Lieutenant Wagner thinks Ackerson sounds almost as though he WANTED the Covenant to glass Reach. And how did Ackerson get back to Earth anyway?

"Halsey's freaks have finally lost their luster of invulnerability." Ackerson is speaking almost from a Covenant point of view. The Covenant know now that the Spartans can be killed.

Ackerson also pours cold water on the idea of sending a scout ship to Reach. His reasoning, on the surface, is that the UNSC cannot spare one ship. He drills the idea that everyone on Reach is dead into the good Lieutenant, making it seem silly to send a scout ship. There obviously was something on Reach that he didn't want the UNSC to know about.

He also suggests pulling back everything to defend Earth. It seems odd that the Covenant had a massive fleet at the Unyielding Hierophant. Ackerson, you bastard! He was trying to catch all of the UNSC forces at Earth, and wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

It is a well-known fact of science fiction that government spooks are never to be trusted. Is Ackerson any different? Time will tell...